The zany, wacky, and silly life of a former preschool teacher's assistant.

smahala1991
The zany, wacky, and silly life of a former preschool teacher's assistant.

Usually, in my mytakes I talk about opinions on TV shows, music, movies, reviews of places I've been or news stories. This time I'm going to talk about a time in my life I loved. I mentioned in a previous mytake that I worked in a preschool while in college. This is really one of the first times I have discussed this with people other than colleagues, family, and friends. So class, let's sit on the mat criss-cross applesauce (yes, we actually called it that) and let's hear the story of "Stephen and The Preschool".

Before I get to the preschool part, every good story needs a backstory. My sophomore year of High School I had finally chosen my path to go to college to become a teacher. I had entered a High school program through East Tennessee State University for first gen college prospects called Upward Bound. The summer of 2008 between my Junior and Senior year I had the opportunity for a six-week work study apprenticeship at the campus' Child Study Center. That summer I was introduced to the 3 to 5-year-old class. Immediately I fell in love with the atmosphere.

The next summer I was accepted and started summer classes at East Tennessee State University. I had qualified for a work-study program as well. While searching for work-study assignments I saw that the Child Study Center was holding openings for new student assistants. I went in for an interview and monitored assessment to see how I and the children would interact and see if I was a good candidate. That August I would start my career as a preschool teacher assistant.

During that time I wore many hats. I cleaned the mats, served the snacks, monitored the kids during rest time, read stories to them, made sure they washed their hands, bandaged boo-boos, made sure the right kid went with their parent or guardian and monitored the kids during indoor and outdoor play. Our classes were divided up into different names mainly insect names. The classes that I worked for were called Ladybugs and Dragonflies. The classes were combined and included ages 2.5 to 5 years old which is what the State of Tennessee designated as preschool aged. The neat thing about this preschool was there was no set curriculum set by the state. The curriculum was based on teacher and student curiosities. Some of the things they studied were: Railroads (there was a train track by the preschool), roads and bridges, insects, weather, and even Bluegrass and Country music (can you imagine a bunch of 3 and 4-year-olds digging the music of Flatt and Scruggs?).

I stayed at the preschool for 3 years. Ultimately I put my education on hold to go back home and help with my ailing grandparents. There isn't a day I don't miss it. I have considered going back to finish to become an Elementary Education teacher, but I cannot afford the tuition at the moment, and can't get a lot of help. Hopefully one day I do intend to go back to finish.

#Stephenthepreschoolteacher

#Storytime

The zany, wacky, and silly life of a former preschool teacher's assistant.
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